You lived on earth, O King of Heaven, to lead me to Heaven --
I who had been cast out of Paradise.
You were born in the flesh of the Virgin to give me birth in the spirit.
You suuffered insults to silence the mouths of my enemies
who denounced me.
You abased Yourself, You Who are higher than all honors,
in order to honor me, the dishonored.
You wept to wipe tears from my eyes.
You sighed, grieved, sorrowed to save me from sighing, grieving,
suffering pain through eternity, to give eternal joy and gladness.
You were sold and betrayed
that I might be freed, I who was enslaved.
You were bound that my bonds might be broken.
You were submitted to an unjust trial -- You Who are the Judge of
all the earth -- that I might be freed from eternal judgment.
You were made naked in order to clothe me in the robes of salvation,
in the garments of gladness.
You were crowned with thorns,
that I might receive the crowns of life.
You were called the king in mockery -- You, the King of all! --
to open the Kingdom of Heaven to me.
Your head was lashed with a reed
that my name should be written in the Book of Life.
You suffered outside the city gates in order to lead me, one who had
been cast out of Paradise, into the eternal Jerusalem.
You were put among evil men -- You Who are the only Just One --
that I, the unjust, might be justified.
You were cursed, the One Blessed,
that I, the accursed, should be blessed.
You shed Your blood that my sins may be cleansed away.
You were given vinegar to drink
that I might eat and drink at the feast in Your Kingdom.
You died, You Who are the Life of all --
in order to revive me, the dead.
You were laid in the tomb, that I might rise from the tomb.
You were brought to life again that I might believe in my resurrection.
The twelve selections were chosen to give a definite continuity to the story of the last days of our Savior and show the harmony in the Gospel.
1st Reading -- John 13:31-18:1
Gives the farewell conversations of Jesus with His disciples and His first priestly prayer for them.
2nd Reading -- John 18:1-28
Discusses the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane and His suffering in the presence of the high priest Annas.
3rd Reading -- Matthew 26:57-75
Describes the Passions of the Savior before the high priest Caiaphas and the denial of Christ by Peter.
4th Reading -- John 18:28-19:16
The trial before Pilate.
5th reading -- Matthew 27:3-32
The remorse of Judas. The continuing of the Saviors suffering before Pilate and the decision made to crucify Him.
6th Reading -- Mark 15:16-32
Leading the Lord to Golgatha and His sufferings on the Cross.
7th Reading -- Matthew 27:33-54
Sufferings of Jesus on the Cross and the divine wonders occuring before His death.
8th Reading -- Luke 23:32-49
The prayers of Jesus on the Cross for His enemies and the repentance of the thief called the "Model Penitent."
9th Reading -- John 19:25-37
The words of Jesus spoken from the Cross to His mother and to the Apostle John and the complete fulfillment of
the prophecy about His death.
10th Reading -- Mark 15:43-47
Removal of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.
11th Reading -- John 19:38-42
The participation of Nicodemus and Joseph in the burial of the Savior.
12th Reading -- Matthew 27:62-66
The placing of the guards at the tomb and the sealing of the grave.
During the Easter season, the Seven Last Words of Christ are remembered in sermons and as the theme of a famous choral cantata rendered by choirs.
Todays readings are Philippians 4:4-9 and John 12:1-18. Jerusalem received Jesus Christ as the Messianic King. We proclaim anew our primary allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord when we accept a blessed branch from the Church. We keep the blessed branch in our homes all year long as a reminder of our loyalty to Christ our King.
Matins Service is called traditionally the "Bridegroom Service" because the theme is the end of the world and judgment of Christ.
Behold, the bridegroom comes in the middle of the night and blessed is the servant whom he shall find watching, and unworthy the servant whom he shall find heedless. Take care then, O my soul, and not be weighed down by sleep that you will not be given over unto death and be excluded from the Kingdom. But rise up and call out: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou O God, by the Theotokos have mercy on us.
During the Great and Holy Week, the Church commemorates the passions and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The matins of the Holy Monday begins with the hymn, "Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight and blessed is the servant whom he will find in vigil...".
In the first three days of the Holy Week, the entire Psalter is read, bringing to mind all the prophecies about Christ. From the Gospels, Monday we read Matthew and half of Mark; Tuesday we finish Mark and two-thirds of Luke; Wednesday, the remainder of Luke and John to Chapter 13: "Now the Son of man was glorified". The readings reassure us that Christ endured real death for us all.
Every single day of the Holy Week has a theme taken from the last days of earthly life of our Lord. Anyone who wishes to walk in the footsteps of the Lord shoul re-live those moments, in silence, withdrawl from worldly activities and pray. On Monday, we recall the cursed fig tree and learn that any soul that does not bring fruits will be cast into the eternal fire.
On Holy Tuesday, the Parable of the wise and foolish virgins teaches us to remain in vigil, because the Lord comes unexpectedly. Wednesday is dedicated to the sinful woman who in repentance anointed Jesus' feet, in the house of Simon the Leper. She is opposed to Judas, who on the same day sold out his Master for 30 pieces of silver.
Our Holy Orthodox Church has always view and soul as inseperable, and for that reason has stressed the necessity for preserving both in good health. That is why the Church provides of Holy Unction. Following Jesus Christ, exhortation to his disciples to "heal the sick, dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons."
Holy Unction is an enduring Sacrament of the healing of sickness and the forgiveness of sins.
The most familiar celebration of this Sacrament takes place on Great & Holy Wednesday of Holy Week. When the Orthodox world intensely recalls the Passions of Christ and His Holy Sacrifice on the Cross!
On Thursday, the Lord washed the feet of His disciples, instituted the Holy Eucharist and was arrested by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane and suffered. At Liturgy, the Holy Communion for the sick is prepared for the entire year. The Gospels of the Passions of the Lord are read in the evening.
The twelve selections were chosen to give a definite continuity to the story of the last days of our Savior and show the harmony in the Gospel.
On Holy Friday, the Lord is being judged, mocked and crucified. The Royal Hours recount the prophecies. This day, there is no Liturgy because Christ Himself is the Lamb of Sacrifice. The Orthodox Christians are called to spend the day in strict fasting and to be in Church. The evening service evokes the burial of the Lord. The Church represents the very tomb of the Lord and the faithful, like the Myrrh-bearers, go in procession around it, showing this way that they, too, are to be buried with Christ to rise again with Him.
Every year, most of us spend a great deal of time preparing the food for the baskets that we will take to our parish to be blessed, it is a beautiful custom which we have the great honor of handing down to our children and grandchildren.
How many of us, though, have given any thought to why we include the foods that we do? The traditional foods have become traditional for a reason!
Here is a brief explanation that you can use when one of your guests inevitably asks about this tradition. Piease remember, however, that this is neither a complete listing nor a complete explanation.
THE ARTOS BREAD:
After Pascha Holy Divine Liturgy, the Artos Bread is blessed in memory of Christ who is THE BREAD OF LIFE
and nourishes us with the food of His Divine Mercies. The Artos Bread is carried around the church at every
procession during Bright Week, as a constant invisible reminder of Christ s sojourn on earth after His Holy
Resurrection. It is later (Bright Saturday) broken and distributed to the faithful.
BLESSING OF PASCHAL (EASTER FOODS) BASKETS:
Following Paschal Holy Divine Liturgy, the clergy and faithful proceed to the blessing of the paschal baskets in
which the faithful have placed specially prepared foods from which they had abstained from during the Great Lenten
Fast. A special item among these foods is the Pascha Bread (in Russian-Kulich), as well as specially prepared
cheese and egg dishes.
The Orthodox Church calculates the date of Easter, Pascha, according to important decisions made at the First Ecumenical Council of the Church in the year 325 in the City of Nicea (Turkey today). The Council declared that the date of the Christian Pascha - Easter should be determined as follows:
The Orthodox Church has rigidly adhered to these regulations since the year 325A.D. when they were finalized by the first unified council of the entire Church. It has only been since the sixteenth century that Western Churches have celebrated Easter on days differing from the Orthodox observance. The Western system of determining Easter was inaugurated in 1582 A.D.
Language | Greeting | Response | Aleut | Khristus anahgrecum! | Alhecum anahgrecum! |
---|---|---|
Aleut | Khris-tusax agla-gikux! | Agangu-lakan agla-gikux! |
Albanian | Krishti U Ngjall! | Vertet U Ngjall! |
Alutuq | Khris-tusaq ung-uixtuq! | Pijii-nuq ung-uixtuq! | Amharic | Kristos tenestwal! | Bergit tenestwal! | Anglo-Saxon | Crist aras! | Crist sodhlice aras! | Arabic | El Messieh kahm! | Hakken kahm! | Armenian | Kristos haryav ee rnerelotz! | Orhnial eh harootyunuh kristosee! | Athabascan | Xristosi banuytashtch'ey! | Gheli banuytashtch'ey! | Bulgarian | Hristos voskrese! | Vo istina voskrese! | Byelorussian | Khrystos uvaskros! | Saprawdy uvaskros! | Chinese | Helisituosi fuhuole! | Queshi fuhuole! | Coptic | Pchristos aftooun! | Alethos aftooun! |
Czech | Kristus vstal a mrtvych! | Opravdi vstoupil! |
Danish | Kristus er opstanden! | Ja, sandelig opstanden! |
Dutch | Christus is opgestaan! | Ja, hij is waarlijk opgestaan! |
English | Christ is risen! | Indeed He is risen! |
Eritrean-Tigre | Christos tensiou! | Bahake tensiou! |
Esperanto | Kristo levigis! | Vere levigis! |
Estonian | Kristus on oolestoosunt! | Toayestee on oolestoosunt! |
Ethiopian | Christos t'ensah em' muhtan! | Exai' ab-her eokala! |
Finnish | Kristus nousi kuolleista! | Totistesti nousi! |
French | Le Christ est ressuscite! | En verite il est ressuscite! |
Gaelic | Taw creest ereen! | Taw shay ereen guhdyne! |
Georgian | Kriste ahzdkhah! | Chezdmaridet! |
German | Christus ist erstanden! | Wahrlich ist er erstanden! |
Greek | Christos anesti! | Alithos anesti! |
Hawaiian | Ua ala hou 'o Kristo! | Ua ala 'l 'o no 'oia! |
Hebrew | Ha Masheeha houh quam! | Be emet quam! |
Hungarian | Krisztus feltamadt! | Valoban feltamadt! |
Ibo (Nigeria) | Jesu Kristi ebiliwo! | Ezia o' biliwo! |
Indian (Malayalam) | Christu uyirthezhunnettu! | Theerchayayum uyirthezhunnettu! |
Indonesian | Kristus telah bangkit! | Benar dia telah bangkit! |
Italian | Cristo e' risorto! | Veramente e' risorto! |
Japanese | Christos fukkatsu! | Jitsu ni fukkatsu! |
Javanese | Kristus sampun wungu! | Tuhu sampun wungu! |
Korean | Kristo gesso! | Buhar ha sho nay! |
Latin | Christus resurrexit! | Vere resurrexit! |
Latvian | Kristus ir augsham sales! | Teyasham ir augsham sales vinsch! |
Lugandan | Kristo ajukkide! | Amajim ajukkide! |
Norwegian | Christus er oppstanden! | Sandelig han er oppstanden! |
Polish | Khristus zmartwyckwstal! | Zaprawde zmartwyckwstal! |
Portugese | Cristo ressuscitou! | Em verdade ressuscitou! |
Romainian | Hristos a inviat! | Adeverat a inviat! |
Russian | Khristos voskrese! | Voistinu voskrese! |
Sanskrit | Krisio'pastitaha! | Satvam upastitaha! |
Serbian | Cristos vaskres! | Vaistinu vaskres! |
Slovak | Kristus vstal zmr'tvych! | Skutoc ne vstal! |
Spanish | Cristo ha resucitado! | En verdad ha resucitado! |
Swahili | Kristo amefufukka! | Kweli amefufukka! |
Swedish | Christus ar upstanden! | Han ar verkligen upstanden! |
Syriac | M'shee ho dkom! | Ha koo qam! |
Tlingit | Xristos Kuxwoo-digoot! | Xegaa-kux Kuxwoo-digoot! |
Turkish | Hristos diril-di! | Hakikaten diril-di! |
Ugandan | Kristo ajukkide! | Kweli ajukkide! |
Ukrainian | Khristos voskres! | Voistinu voskres! |
Welsh | Atgyfododd Crist! | Atgyfododd yn wir! |
Yupik | Xris-tusaq Ung-uixtuq! | IIuumun Ung-uixtuq! |
Zulu | Ukristu uvukile! | Uvukile kuphela! |